TKR Larry’s LTKR Recovery
- Thread starter Larryhg3
- Start date
Canada
I think you and your PT are quite right that due to long term issues prior to your tkr, your progress will be more challenging and slower. But that doesn't mean you won't get to the point where you can do most if not all of what you want to do.
OP
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Larryhg3
senior
Thanks kneeper. I am certain we will get there. Patience ( I know I put that away somewhere) and perseverance plus time = recovery.
HoneyB
senior
One of my friends, who had her two TKRs about the same time I did, had GREAT results with dry needling. We had the same therapist. He tried it on me to relieve my tight quad in my right leg (knee #2). Sadly, it didn't work for me. I'm still working on gentle stretching. I can go up and down stairs foot over foot, even with my hands full, but that quad feels stiff as I do it. I can feel slight, slow improvements so I'll just have to have patience. I'm not good at patience.
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Larryhg3
senior
Hello all I had my follow up with the surgeon. He calls it my 3 month follow up since it is 3 months since the staples came out. He coupled that with my 1 year check up on Lefty (3 weeks early). Lefty got a clean bill of health. He doesn’t break out the measuring tool, not ever, but was unable to put anything under Lefty. He had me bend Lefty as far as I could asked me if I had any pain which I didn’t. He put his hands on my ankle and said big deep breath and applied minimal pressure, I could feel him pushing but it didn’t hurt. Said excellent.
Then he started on Righty, he is very happy with my extension he can barely get a finger under him. Had me bend as far as I could, I was getting nervous. He asked where my pain was (not if I had pain) I explained under the old scar and in my quad some. He nodded his head. Told me that by eyeball it is between 100 and 110 flex, last PT measurement was 107. Then he had me walk around the office up onto a 6 inch step and then off it. He made me get something off the back of the shelf under the bed. Nodded his head. After he pushed Lefty I thought for sure he would push Righty but I think the pain question was the deciding factor. No pain = give it a push to test it out. Pain = no push why aggravate pain.
Finally sat me back down and told me that Righty is lagging behind in terms of flexion. That there were many factors that have impacted that including a slow healing incision that kept PT from mobilizing for 5 weeks, long term injury and long term scarring close to the new incision. He likes that PT is using dry needling to address the long term injury (deep muscle tissue knots is the easiest way to explain it) and wants me to continue PT for that and to address my bio mechanics. The things he had me do showed him my poor bio mechanics. I asked if I should be concerned? He said no why would you be concerned? You are healing slower than we would hope but you will be fine. He is not suggesting any intervention on his part basically just need to make up for the five weeks that the incision slowed things down. He does want an 8 week re-check which isn’t his norm but just so he can monitor my progress. He told me that realistically my best case flex on Righty he would expect to be around 120 anything higher will be considered a bonus.
He knows my goals and said no reason I can see you won’t be golfing in April. Also sees no reason I won’t be able to ease into hiking this summer either. Overall no surprises. I love my OS he sets realistic expectations and adjusts treatment if things are slower. He doesn’t back his expectations with fear tactics just tries to support me in my journey.
Then he started on Righty, he is very happy with my extension he can barely get a finger under him. Had me bend as far as I could, I was getting nervous. He asked where my pain was (not if I had pain) I explained under the old scar and in my quad some. He nodded his head. Told me that by eyeball it is between 100 and 110 flex, last PT measurement was 107. Then he had me walk around the office up onto a 6 inch step and then off it. He made me get something off the back of the shelf under the bed. Nodded his head. After he pushed Lefty I thought for sure he would push Righty but I think the pain question was the deciding factor. No pain = give it a push to test it out. Pain = no push why aggravate pain.
Finally sat me back down and told me that Righty is lagging behind in terms of flexion. That there were many factors that have impacted that including a slow healing incision that kept PT from mobilizing for 5 weeks, long term injury and long term scarring close to the new incision. He likes that PT is using dry needling to address the long term injury (deep muscle tissue knots is the easiest way to explain it) and wants me to continue PT for that and to address my bio mechanics. The things he had me do showed him my poor bio mechanics. I asked if I should be concerned? He said no why would you be concerned? You are healing slower than we would hope but you will be fine. He is not suggesting any intervention on his part basically just need to make up for the five weeks that the incision slowed things down. He does want an 8 week re-check which isn’t his norm but just so he can monitor my progress. He told me that realistically my best case flex on Righty he would expect to be around 120 anything higher will be considered a bonus.
He knows my goals and said no reason I can see you won’t be golfing in April. Also sees no reason I won’t be able to ease into hiking this summer either. Overall no surprises. I love my OS he sets realistic expectations and adjusts treatment if things are slower. He doesn’t back his expectations with fear tactics just tries to support me in my journey.
grandma chris
graduate
I think I love your OS too !
donnag1108
senior
Wonderful update! Your OS sounds alot like mine and that makes us very fortunate indeed!
Motherbone
senior
Reading about the tight quads has been enlightening for me. When I work on flexion I feel tightness more on the top of my thigh above my kneecap, and not in the joint itself. I need to get more consistent with my stretches, but the quad stretch is tricky to do in a brace!
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Larryhg3
senior
@Motherbone you need to take into account the mitigating factors in your procedure. I love your posts about your new PT it really sounds like they get it. Everything comes in time.
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Larryhg3
senior
Good morning BoneSmart
1 year ago today they were getting ready to wheel me into the OR for a left TKR. I was thinking “I got this. I have a high pain tolerance, good work ethic and I heal fast.” What a long strange trip it’s been. (Queue the Grateful Dead music).
Lefty is great. I very rarely even think about him anymore. Wake up in the morning without that gnawing grinding pain. I can use him in pretty much all daily activities. There were times that I wasn’t sure I was going to get through this. Lefty took his time getting to pain free, but he got there. Luckily I found BoneSmart a few weeks after my surgery so I could ask others who are on this journey if I was normal. The community answered as normal as you have ever been . Honestly I thank the BoneSmart members for their support and input as I have walked this road. I can honestly say without a doubt that I am glad I had the surgery. For me this has been about PT with very specific rules and conditions. I know some don’t like or support PT, but I found a good group who listen to me and abide by my rules. I love structure and that is what I get at PT. I also use their conditioning center which has been very beneficial to Lefty getting better.
Righty turned 4 months on Sunday. Yes I was crazy enough to do both within a year of each other. His journey has been completely different than Lefty. Unlike Lefty, by week 2 Righty was good with mostly Tylenol and an occasional (2 pills maximum) hydrocodone boost. I get occasional stiffness especially after PT/conditioning or after work but not pain. I am getting ready to be discharged from PT and just do conditioning two times a week. His journey has had it’s own issues because of old injuries/scarring but he is getting there. I call him my work in progress. Monday as my PT was pushing needles into my quads I asked him “so I am still here because we are chasing a ROM number?” His answer was “ no your doctor and I are chasing a number. You are laying on a table tolerating it”. He knows that having those numbers in my head makes me crazy. Right now my extension is 0 dead flat my extension is still between 100 and 110 depending on the day. But I don’t give a
because again there are less and less things that I can’t do. That number has no consequence in my life in any way. I am still not sure I am glad I had the surgery on Righty but I am getting there.
Thank you BoneSmart members for your support and guidance. You wonderful people have carried me through this process not once but twice in this last year. I have been privileged to make friends from all over the world who have walked the joint replacement path. We are all different and all find our way through it in our own way but we support one another because we have been there. Good luck to all of you I am still watching and cheering for you all.
1 year ago today they were getting ready to wheel me into the OR for a left TKR. I was thinking “I got this. I have a high pain tolerance, good work ethic and I heal fast.” What a long strange trip it’s been. (Queue the Grateful Dead music).
Lefty is great. I very rarely even think about him anymore. Wake up in the morning without that gnawing grinding pain. I can use him in pretty much all daily activities. There were times that I wasn’t sure I was going to get through this. Lefty took his time getting to pain free, but he got there. Luckily I found BoneSmart a few weeks after my surgery so I could ask others who are on this journey if I was normal. The community answered as normal as you have ever been . Honestly I thank the BoneSmart members for their support and input as I have walked this road. I can honestly say without a doubt that I am glad I had the surgery. For me this has been about PT with very specific rules and conditions. I know some don’t like or support PT, but I found a good group who listen to me and abide by my rules. I love structure and that is what I get at PT. I also use their conditioning center which has been very beneficial to Lefty getting better.
Righty turned 4 months on Sunday. Yes I was crazy enough to do both within a year of each other. His journey has been completely different than Lefty. Unlike Lefty, by week 2 Righty was good with mostly Tylenol and an occasional (2 pills maximum) hydrocodone boost. I get occasional stiffness especially after PT/conditioning or after work but not pain. I am getting ready to be discharged from PT and just do conditioning two times a week. His journey has had it’s own issues because of old injuries/scarring but he is getting there. I call him my work in progress. Monday as my PT was pushing needles into my quads I asked him “so I am still here because we are chasing a ROM number?” His answer was “ no your doctor and I are chasing a number. You are laying on a table tolerating it”. He knows that having those numbers in my head makes me crazy. Right now my extension is 0 dead flat my extension is still between 100 and 110 depending on the day. But I don’t give a
because again there are less and less things that I can’t do. That number has no consequence in my life in any way. I am still not sure I am glad I had the surgery on Righty but I am getting there. Thank you BoneSmart members for your support and guidance. You wonderful people have carried me through this process not once but twice in this last year. I have been privileged to make friends from all over the world who have walked the joint replacement path. We are all different and all find our way through it in our own way but we support one another because we have been there. Good luck to all of you I am still watching and cheering for you all.
Now, that's the right attitude! It's what a person can do with their knees after this surgery, not the number the OS and PT want!
traceys
graduate
big enough! I’m all teared up hearing you progressing YOUR way still. You’ve been such a wide set of shoulders for so many here it’s nice to see you get some good karma in return. 
HoneyB
senior
I'm glad to hear the good report, @Larryhg3! My lefty is coming up on her one-year anniversary next week, and righty is just past eight months (and still lagging behind lefty). I'm so glad I had both of my TKRs and can walk pain-free, but I'm ready for righty to catch up, especially on bad weather days. It was an overcast day today on the Gulf Coast, and righty let me know that during every trip down the stairs. Still, life is much better than it was this time last year!
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Larryhg3
senior
@traceys thanks for the hug my friend, I will always accept a hug. I am still following the stories here especially my knee buddies on here just keeping my comments to myself. But yes I still believe in and trust my PT and they still respect the ground rules I established. Once I get discharged from PT i will go to their conditioning center 2x a week. Again a structured exercise and stretching environment works really well for me. Golf is less than 2 months away.
@HoneyB i can relate so much to bad weather days. Both my knees pout when the weather is changing. Some days are worse than others. You are another of my knee friends that I think of often and hope things are going well.
Yesterday my team was laughing and watching me. I go over and asked what was so funny. The answer “you walk faster than most of us. And we are trying to figure out how much weight you have lost.” They were commenting on how quickly I am bouncing back this time compared to the first time. And joking about how much my knees must have weighed.
@HoneyB i can relate so much to bad weather days. Both my knees pout when the weather is changing. Some days are worse than others. You are another of my knee friends that I think of often and hope things are going well.
Yesterday my team was laughing and watching me. I go over and asked what was so funny. The answer “you walk faster than most of us. And we are trying to figure out how much weight you have lost.” They were commenting on how quickly I am bouncing back this time compared to the first time. And joking about how much my knees must have weighed.
hi Larry!
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Larryhg3
senior
another of my knee friends that I watch and cheer on. Sounds like you found a good way to manage your recovery that works for you. So awesome. Sorry about the back 
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Larryhg3
senior
@rustic thank you so much. This roller coaster ride can be a wild and crazy ride.
Tonight at PT I asked what the plan moving forward was. The response was we are a team we stop when you say we stop. Functionally I am getting better every day. The dry needling is helping a great deal. Today’s quote “your tissue is much much better. It was a gnarled up mess when we started and now there are only a few spots that feel like an old oak tree”. They want to try for another 3 visits to finish what they started with needling my quads. No pain when the work on me. Exercises seem to be helping so the fun continues.
Tonight at PT I asked what the plan moving forward was. The response was we are a team we stop when you say we stop. Functionally I am getting better every day. The dry needling is helping a great deal. Today’s quote “your tissue is much much better. It was a gnarled up mess when we started and now there are only a few spots that feel like an old oak tree”. They want to try for another 3 visits to finish what they started with needling my quads. No pain when the work on me. Exercises seem to be helping so the fun continues.
